Taiwan Drills Show Alignment With US   08/13 06:30

   

   TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) -- Through this year's military drills, Taiwan has 
chosen to emphasize its army's and society's flexibility and resilience as 
opposed to primarily putting advanced weapons on display. Experts say the 
exercises' structure indicates closer ties with the U.S. military in the face 
of China's ongoing military threat.

   The annual Han Kuang drills were taking place Aug. 5-14 at locations around 
the island. The live-fire exercises test the Taiwanese army's ability to 
sustain 24-hour defense operations as well as counter China's "gray-zone 
tactics," which stop just short of open warfare.

   China claims the self-ruled democracy as its own territory, and has not 
renounced the use of force to bring it under its control. Taiwan dismisses 
China's claims and insists it is a sovereign state.

   The United States, while not recognizing Taiwan as a country, sees all 
threats to the island as a matter of great concern. Washington is bound by its 
own laws to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself.

   The drills show closer ties with the US military

   While there has long been speculation that the U.S. military has been 
quietly training Taiwanese troops, the collaboration between the two sides has 
been more visible in recent weeks. A key component of the Han Kuang drills, for 
example, is the practice of a U.S.-inspired military communications method 
called backbriefing, where subordinates explain to commanders how they plan to 
carry out assigned missions.

   The communication drills are intended to encourage first-line fighters to be 
more self-reliant and effective in battle, experts say.

   "The most important new development in this year's Han Kuang is the 
incorporation of American-style military training methods, which are aimed at 
enhancing the coordination and combat readiness of the Taiwanese military," 
said William Yang, a senior Northeast Asia analyst for the International Crisis 
Group.

   The drills thus "stay away from the mostly performative tasks of firepower 
display" of past years and instead focus on building real combat capabilities, 
Yang added.

   Emphasis on reservists and urban resilience

   Another focus of this year's drills is mobilizing one of the largest numbers 
yet of reservists, of around 20,000 personnel, according to local media. 
Taiwan's Defense Ministry did not say how many reservists were participating.

   The emphasis on reserves illustrates Taiwan's efforts to address the 
military power asymmetry between itself and China, Yang said. China maintains 
the world's largest army, of more than 2 million active-duty personnel, almost 
nine times the size of Taiwan's active-duty armed forces.

   Another focus of the exercises is urban resilience drills, reflecting 
Taiwan's longstanding emphasis on civil defense. These were taking place on 
different days in the major cities of Kaohsiung, Taichung and the capital, 
Taipei. During the drills, mobile internet speed will be reduced for about 30 
minutes to simulate telecommunications interference in case of an attack.

   The emphasis on combat readiness and civilian preparedness reflect Taiwanese 
President Lai Ching-te's priorities amid political constraints, said Lev 
Nachman, a political-science professor at National Taiwan University. Lai has 
sought to pass a $40 billion special defense budget for U.S. arms purchases and 
local defense manufacturing. A much smaller version of the budget, of $24.8 
billion, was eventually approved by the opposition-controlled parliament.

   "Given that Lai has been constrained on his ability to pass a budget that 
could even supply the kinds of weapons he would want to test, he has had to 
look to what he is able to do given the domestic political gridlock," Nachman 
said.

   US arms sales to Taiwan remain in question

   Despite closer informal ties between the U.S. and Taiwan militaries, 
questions remain around a massive $14 billion arms sales package to Taiwan that 
U.S. President Donald Trump has yet to approve. After traveling to China in 
May, Trump described arms sales to Taiwan as a "very good negotiating chip" 
with Beijing, raising anxieties on the island about continued U.S. support.

   Trump also said after his summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he does 
not want to "travel 9,500 miles (15,300 kilometers) to fight a war" over Taiwan.

   In that context, seeing the U.S. influence on Taiwan's military drills 
offers a "silver lining" in terms of Washington's commitment to Taiwan, Nachman 
said.

   "Even though Trump and those close to him have flip-flopped on supporting 
Taiwan, the connection between the two militaries remains strong, enough to at 
least ensure that Taiwan is still able to learn at a high level from the U.S.," 
he said.